15 Woe to those who hide deep their counsel from Yahweh, and whose works are in the dark, and who say, Who sees us? and who knows us?
Then said he to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Yahweh doesn't see us; Yahweh has forsaken the land.
Woe to the rebellious children, says Yahweh, who take counsel, but not of me; and who make a league, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin,
For you have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, None sees me; your wisdom and your knowledge, it has perverted you, and you have said in your heart, I am, and there is none else besides me.
Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Then said he to me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of wrestling [of judgment]: for they say, Yahweh has forsaken the land, and Yahweh doesn't see.
I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other, he began to tell his disciples first of all, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up, that will not be revealed, nor hidden, that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear in the inner chambers will be proclaimed on the housetops.
It will happen at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their heart, "Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil."
You say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness? Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he doesn't see. He walks on the vault of the sky.'
I will declare your righteousness; and as for your works, they shall not profit you.
I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place.
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, And wickedness as with cart rope; Who say, "Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it!"
> Yahweh, you have searched me, And you know me. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether. You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me. This knowledge is beyond me. It's lofty. I can't attain it. Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!
They say, "Yah will not see, Neither will Jacob's God consider." Consider, you senseless among the people; You fools, when will you be wise? He who implanted the ear, won't he hear? He who formed the eye, won't he see?
They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, "Who will see them?" They plot injustice, saying, "We have made a perfect plan!" Surely man's mind and heart are cunning.
Behold, they spew with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, "For," they say, "who hears us?"
"These are of those who rebel against the light; They don't know the ways of it, Nor abide in the paths of it. The murderer rises with the light. He kills the poor and needy. In the night he is like a thief. The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, 'No eye shall see me.' He disguises his face. In the dark they dig through houses. They shut themselves up in the daytime. They don't know the light. For the morning is to all of them like thick darkness, For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 29
Commentary on Isaiah 29 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 29
This woe to Ariel, which we have in this chapter, is the same with the "burden of the valley of vision' (ch. 22:1), and (it is very probable) points at the same event-the besieging of Jerusalem by the Assyrian army, which was cut off there by an angel; yet it is applicable to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and its last desolations by the Romans. Here is,
Isa 29:1-8
That it is Jerusalem which is here called Ariel is agreed, for that was the city where David dwelt; that part of it which was called Zion was in a particular manner the city of David, in which both the temple and the palace were. But why it is so called is very uncertain: probably the name and the reason were then well known. Cities, as well as persons, get surnames and nicknames. Ariel signifies the lion of God, or the strong lion: as the lion is king among beasts, so was Jerusalem among the cities, giving law to all about her; it was the city of the great King (Ps. 48:1, 2); it was the head-city of Judah, who is called a lion's whelp (Gen. 49:9) and whose ensign was a lion; and he that is the lion of the tribe of Judah was the glory of it. Jerusalem was a terror sometimes to the neighbouring nations, and, while she was a righteous city, was bold as a lion. Some make Ariel to signify the altar of burnt-offerings, which devoured the beasts offered in sacrifice as the lion does his prey. Woe to that altar in the city where David dwelt; that was destroyed with the temple by the Chaldeans. I rather take it as a woe to Jerusalem, Jerusalem; it is repeated here, as it is Mt. 23:37, that it might be the more awakening. Here is,
Isa 29:9-16
Here,
Isa 29:17-24
Those that thought to hide their counsels from the Lord were said to turn things upside down (v. 16), and they intended to do it unknown to God; but God here tells them that he will turn things upside down his way; and let us see whose word shall stand, his or theirs. They disbelieve Providence: "Wait awhile,' says God, "and you shall be convinced by ocular demonstration that there is a God who governs the world, and that he governs it and orders all the changes that are in it for the good of his church.' The wonderful revolution here foretold may refer primarily to the happy settlement of the affairs of Judah and Jerusalem after the defeat of Sennacherib's attempt, and the repose which good people then enjoyed, when they were delivered from the alarms of the sword both of war and persecution. But it may look further, to the rejection of the Jews at the first planting of the gospel (for their hypocrisy and infidelity were here foretold, v. 13) and the admission of the Gentiles into the church.